Category: Mixed Media

It’s JUNE! HAPPYPRIDE! I just wanted to give a big shout out to all of my amazing LBGQT friends. I will be celebrating and posting in support this month with several handmade and refinished pieces of furniture. Y’all be prepared for an explosion of color and inclusion!

I admit I’m kicking off my creative Pride designs with an item that I made a couple of years ago. I had stitched this PRIDE embroidered wall art for a friend and never shared it with y’all. So here it is, my embroidery for pride. Simple and understated, but I am still pretty excited about the ombre colored thread in rainbow order!

A Little History

I always like knowing the actual history behind comparative months and days. While I’ve always celebrated my amazing friends during this time, I admittedly never knew the month’s history. Per the Library of Congress:

“…Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.”

This is just a little snippet, but I’m glad I am able to support and celebrate my LBGQT friends. Although, it’s heartbreaking that these riots were going on in 1969 and LBGQT people are still struggling for equality today. I highly recommend doing some more reading on the history of Pride Month and all of the other things Pride Month stands for. Raise up your rainbows in solidarity and do your part to support the LBGQT community.

While we’re still technically in January, February is pretty much here. I would have forgotten that means Valentine’s Day if I hadn’t treated myself to a getaway weekend in Belton, TX. Belton, Texas you might ask? It doesn’t really have too much going for it except their big convention center. Why would I go there? Well, I’m delighted to announce that I bought tickets to go to the Annual Mother Earth News Fair. It is a collection of workshops and lectures for homesteaders and farmers.

I am beyond excited. I have been checking in on speakers almost daily to see who has been added to the list. Last year, I learned so much like how to start successfully fermenting things, which you can see I’ve been putting to good use by my last blog post.

So how is this romantic? Well, technically it’s not, but I absolutely love learning about homesteading, soil care, chicken raising, bee keeping, mushroom growing and more. Getting back to the point though…

Valentine’s Day! It’s something I’ve never been too keen on whether I’m romantically involved or not, but I get pretty excited about this little fruit and veg Valentine’s Day cards either way! You can take a look at the shop for more!

In between embroidering Texas Towels, I took breaks by baking banana bread and pecan pie as well as whipping a quick batch of refrigerator pickles. I love having pickles around as a cool, crips snack or a great addition to a cheese plate or sandwich. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for you! Oh yea, these are a little zingy!

It’s true. Although, it’s not like I need to be the one to tell ya’ll that. I think a more specific statement that I am trying to make is… “Daaaaaamn, my friends are bad ass.”

Let me back up just a little bit. This past Friday, I met with my friend, Lisa. This girl takes the cake on just about everything: musician, networking, event planning, starting up her own venue, kicking off a new publication, and pedi-cabbing, just to name a few. After forty minutes of shooting the shit (as they say) we can put together an event with a side of fundraising in less than twenty minutes. (link is here) Feeling motivated from our pow-wow and my overwhelmingly successful craft fair on Saturday, I have been determined to continue with my own bad-assery. In fact, I am taking on a lot this week as I am excited to say that I have to restock my entire inventory before my next event, which brings me to….. details on that.

I will be one of the many female vendors participating in the Hysteria ‘Zine Release Party. What is Hysteria ‘Zine? Well, let me explain. Lisa, the rad friend I was telling you about, she has put together a publication, or in this case ‘zine, to provide a safe platform to present stories, art, articles, etc from a female perspective. The release party is going to be a huge event! Woman supporting one another, coming together to express themselves, their views, and share their work. Seriously, I can’t wait… but for now I’ll have to because I have to get back to crafting for the event!

It is no secret that Anthropologie is my favorite store. I always say that Tiffany’s is to Holly Golightly as Anthropologies is to me. It’s the place I go when I have a mean case of the reds… or when I am in need of inspiration, or I just need to window shop.

This last time I was at Anthropologie, I stumbled across these tasselled chimes. Now, I am a sucker for tassels. It’s true. I have no shame, but put a cute little bell and I am so there. Like most things, I checked the price tag… and I decided, eh, I wasn’t quite there as I thought I was. For the most part, I am more than capable from walking away from things, if they keep nagging, then I return. In this instance, those little chimes kept nagging, but I did in fact refuse to give in.

This is one of the many times that I looked at something at Anthropologie and thought, “Yea, I can definitely make that.” I went to Bead It (on South Lamar) and gathered tassels and cute bells. Fortunately for me, I stumbled across the perfect handcrafted copper bells at Mockingbird Domestic (that deserves its own blog post). All the supplies plus an iced coffee came out to the price of one of the Anthropologie string of chimes… and, now, I have two!

Sure, they are a little bit different, but I like that mine have hemp string versus the leather and… I made it… SO THERE! These will be hanging outside my door mingled in with my antique flyer cart filled with potted plants.

The time has come and Valentine’s Day is around the corner. I typically dread Valentine’s Day… Not in the “I’m single and a tragic spinster” kind of way, but really more for the overload of bad chocolate and the misuse of pink, Pink, PINK EVERYWHERE! I’m always surrounded by loved ones and have so many dear friends to love. This year is a little different though…

A few weeks ago, Lindsey (I feel as if she needs no introduction at this point) shared a link on my Facebook timeline that Brit & Co. was teaming up with DoSomething to help Meals on Wheals get handmade cards to folks all over the country for Valentine’s Day.

I will be donating the following cards to Meals on Wheels this week!

YOU CAN HELP TOO!

I have updated my ETSY shop with the following cards that I have created over the last few weeks. For every card that is sold, I will donate $1 to Meals on Wheels!

You can give the cutest cards to your friends, family, and loved ones and know that it’s going to a couple of good causes: Meals on Wheels as well as supporting local artists.

It has been a long time coming, but I have finally completed a furniture piece that I have had in my possession for years. This little table deserves it.

The Back Story:

In 2010, my Ex and I both taught a class at Skill Share. (If you haven’t heard of Skill Share, I highly suggest you check it out.) My Ex, Dave, is a skilled electrician and was volunteering his time to teach a light re-wiring class. Dave also had a knack, a gift, whatever you want to call it, for finding the coolest free treasures. Most would probably call them junk but for those that were fans of the vintage and antique, he was the best magnet to have. He collected and pulled together bins full of lamps for this class. I was unable to attend his class, as I was teaching my canning class at the same time, so I never got the tutorial, but I was so happy to see many of the unwanted lamps come back home with him!

A couple of years passed, Dave and I were moving on with our separate lives, I was relieved and thrilled that he did not have a lot of interest in the two lamps that I so desperately wanted. One is the cutest yellow lamp which sits on my nightstand and the other was this little side table with a light in it. I’m assuming Dave thought it was more trouble than it was worth, just by looking at it. It was wobbly, the light fixture needed to be replaced, and the finish was shedding off at an exponential rate.

I have moved several times with this diamond in the rough. Every move, I tell myself, “Someday, I will refinish this,” or, “I swear I will get to this project.” I don’t know if the timing was just right or that there is some magic force within the walls of this current apartment that is a driving force behind me completing lingering projects, either way… this side table got the treatment it deserved.

Admittedly this project took a little longer than anticipated due to the cold weather. I do most of my work outside for ventilation and the sake of my downstairs neighbor. Thankfully we’ve had a few days of exceptional weather and I was able to sand and finish this project.

This little table no longer wobbles, it’s been painted and finished, the metal bits are cleaned up and polished, and refreshed, as well as a spiffy new light fixture. This project has left me feeling more handy than ever and satisfied to have finally completed it. What a learning experience!

The dust has settled and I am slowly cleaning up my apartment from the mania of 12 Days of Crafting and prepping and so on. I’m not going to lie, I had nightmares the entire week before that I wouldn’t be able to sell a single item or that no one would like anything. I am relieved and so very thankful to say that my first craft fair was a success. I am very much looking forward to participating in many more, that is right after I restock my inventory!

I did much better than I anticipated. There is a glimmer of hope that I could quite possibly continue to do what I do… and, wait for it, make a living off of doing what I love doing the most: making.

Here are some pictures from my table. I hope you enjoy! I have some items left, so if you are looking for Christmas gifts, search no further! Feel free to contact me!

Day 11: Not Quite Hallmark

I am nerdy excited about these little cards. Most, if not all of my friends are foodies of sorts. In fact, when I used to work at Johnson’s Backyard Garden some of us would try to come up with cute veggie sayings and jokes. I have been wanting to make cute little cards like these for a long time.

I find that most Hallmark cards are too cheesy and some locally made cards are just a tad too snarky. I am not too particularly concerned if anybody even buys these at the Bluebonnet Bazaar this coming Saturday, because to be honest, I will use them all!

Anyway, the images are prints or watercolors/drawings that I have done. I hope you like!

Day 10: The Barbara Dowling

This post is dedicated to Barbara Dowling. I will say right now that this one may not be eloquent or well written but please know that it is particularly dear to my heart and particularly difficult to write. I know I have mentioned Barbara Dowling in the past. She was my stained glass professor at the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She was far more than just a professor though. She was one charged glass of water who became my mentor in art, men, life, etc. She introduced me to the glass world, taught me to take creative risks, and the ground work to the business of the art world. But to a young woman coming into her own, she taught me that it was okay to be myself. Coming from a high school experience that sent me home crying every day coupled with teenage years that lacked a creative mother figure, she guided me while I figured out who I was. She helped me find the balance between my incredibly wild side and just as incredibly sensitive side. The one thing I cannot thank Barbara enough for was helping me reconnect and build a strong relationship with my mother.

I got word last week that Barbara passed away. I am still a part of the email thread that spread the word and while everyone is sending their condolences, I find myself completely unable to say anything on the thread, but yet, I can write here. I didn’t shed a tear when I first got the news, but I find as I type this note with every key stroke I fall more and more apart.

I realize that this is Day 10 of the 12 Days of Crafting and not the 10 run on sentences of sadness, but it’s Christmas time and we should be celebrating the ones we love, whether they are here or not.

When I got the news of Barbara’s passing, I pulled out pictures, notes from her lectures, and a few remaining stained glass projects I had packed away. One project I found was a box of glass bells. As many of you know, I play music. When I was in college, I was just really starting to perform and have shows. Barbara challenged me to make music with my visual art. I ended up making a collection of 50 glass bells. I hung them in a few trees in the park where there was lots of foot traffic and spent hours recording the sounds of the glass bells clinking together in the breeze, cracking against each other, crashing on the concrete, and the comments of passers by.

I have since lost the audio and photos of this project, but I have a few remaining bells. I have turned these bells into candle holders. I want to share these with the world and hope that they bring light to someone else’s life like Barbara brought light to mine.